Gordon Campbell on the fallacy of political moderation
The belief that it is the moderate middle who will decide the outcome of Election 2020 is a deeply ideological stance.
Jacinda Ardern
Gordon Campbell on the Christchurch Call, and Lizzo
The zigzagging nature of the Christchurch Call To Action’s content reflects the genuine tension that exists on this subject.
Gordon Campbell on the government’s timidity on welfare reform
Only six months ago, the jury was still out on whether the Ardern government would enter the history books as a radical force for change, or as mere tinkerers with the status quo…
On Ardern and Macron’s campaign against violent social media content
In the wake of the Christchurch mosque shootings, there is now a strong political appetite for some sort of regulatory action.
Gordon Campbell on scrapping the capital gains tax
With the wisdom of hindsight, the Labour/Greens combo never did have the numbers to get a meaningful capital gains tax (CGT) across the line…
Gordon Campbell on the human rights dimension of Jacinda Ardern’s visit to China
It is also difficult to imagine that even a moral lecture by a New Zealand PM would do much to improve the lot of the persecuted, or make the tyrants mend their ways
Gordon Campbell on why the government shouldn’t run the Christchurch massacre inquiry
Yesterday Jacinda Ardern announced an inquiry into the background to the mosque attacks and into the role played by the SIS, GCSB, Police, Customs, and Immigration.
Gordon Campbell on justice for Kiwi jihadis
Mark Taylor, the Kiwi recruit to ISIS, ultimately put himself in the hands of the Kurdish forces in northern Syria. That was smart of him, and/or lucky.
Gordon Campbell on why Justin Trudeau’s fate matters to New Zealand
The scandal now engulfing Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party is the kind of train wreck that confirms the public’s worst feelings about politicians and their back-room dealings.
Gordon Campbell on the alleged crisis over our relations with China
If New Zealand’s relations with China are ‘deteriorating’ then you still need a microscope to detect the signs.
Gordon Campbell on Ardern, Davos, and the wellbeing schtick
The ‘wellbeing budget’ sounds like a marketing slogan… It’s just as easy to forget that GDP – the common measure of how well an economy is performing – is also a marketing device
Gordon Campbell on Emmanuel Macron’s no good, very bad year
Earlier this year, PM Jacinda Ardern’s harmonious meeting with Emmanuel Macron was deemed to be the most important political coup of her entire trip to Europe.
Gordon Campbell on how Malaysia has exposed our dodgy policies towards China
Mahathir Mohamad has exposed how New Zealand is trying to make a virtue out of sitting on the fence over the South China Sea dispute
Gordon Campbell on why deportation decisions should be transparent
Kicking the problematic cases upstairs for the Minister to operate as some kind of ‘last chance saloon’ is to turn the deportation decision into a lottery.
Gordon Campbell on the fuss and fighting over the PM’s Pacific Forum trip
Dutifully, the Pacific Islands Forum meeting is described each year as the region’s most important gathering of leaders…
Gordon Campbell on the stereotypes about Jacinda Ardern
On Monday, Act MP David Seymour’s depiction of PM Jacinda Ardern as a clueless lightweight was yet another example of the double bind faced by […]
Gordon Campbell on why worrying about business confidence is a wasted effort
For reasons that amount to little more than a prolonged political sulk over last year’s election result, the corporate world is talking itself into a tantrum.
Gordon Campbell on family separations, and family publicity
The recent upsurge in asylum seekers is only a fraction of the 1,643,679 people who sought asylum in fiscal year 2000 without the US sinking under the weight.
Gordon Campbell on why France could become our closest ally in Europe
As PM Jacinda Ardern returns from a triumphant tour to Britain and the capitals of Europe, her officials have probably begun to assess what the […]
Gordon Campbell on the prevailing media narratives about the Labour–led coalition
The media reports the facts…. but that’s not the end of it, and nor should it be. It also marshals those facts and creates a […]
Gordon Campbell on the child poverty targets
As PM Jacinda Ardern said yesterday, targets alone are not enough.
Gordon Campbell on the selling out of the Kurds
Once every decade, the Kurds flicker across the Western world’s radar, usually in the role of victims.
Gordon Campbell on yesterday’s quest for zero net carbon emissions
Some would querulously ask, zero net carbon emissions by 2050 – while others would say, why not?
Gordon Campbell on saying ‘work for the dole,’ nicely
Shane Jones has made it clear that he’s going to be saying really, really loudly what he and Winston and the rest of the NZF crew are doing.
Gordon Campbell on the new Pike River agency, and the air strike wing
Much of the sympathy the public still feels for the families of the Pike River miners has been sustained by the sense that the previous government has never dealt honestly, or fairly, with them.
Gordon Campbell on Ardern’s refugee non-deal
Trump has welshed on the Manus deal to Australia… On the weekend, Turnbull humiliated Jacinda Ardern in turn, by once again rejecting New Zealand’s offer.
Across the generational divide in politics
For some people, words like ‘tax’ and ‘regulation’ and ‘government intervention’ are fighting talk.
Gordon Campbell on the fear of change
As NZ has woken from its nine-year slumber to confront National’s dire legacy of social and economic neglect, the changes are going to be extensive.
Gordon Campbell on the likely path of Hurricane Jacinda
So far, Labour’s tax plans have been treated like an incoming hurricane in the Caribbean – how big will it be, what path it take through the economy, how much damage will it do?
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s campaign launch
One of the key motifs of Ardern’s speech was her repeated use of the phrase – “ Now, what?”